My National Past Time. Let Me Show You It
I said yesterday that once I'd gotten a hold of myself enough to do so, I would celebrate with a Crosby spam like I similarly did with Alexandre Bilodeau. And it started that way, but as I was gathering pictures I decided, “Oh, that's a great shot of Luongo, yes let's get Niedermayer and Iginla and Toews” and then it just became a celebratory Team Canada 2010 spam (though still heavy on the Crosby) because yesterday's game and yesterday's winning goal was the end of the story and the last leap to victory... but it was a long journey. We as a nation of hockey fans had a longer journey than we anticipated and one that was not as smooth as first expected. Team USA not only humbled us but humilated us just over a week ago and in that moment we didn't know what would happen. But it made us better, and I think it was because of that game that we ended up with the gold medal.
So I'd like to somewhat tongue-in-cheek thank Team USA for doing what they did to us and pushing ourselves to be the best we could be. And hey, you did get your Miracle on Ice win against guys in red jerseys - the anniversary just ended up falling too prematurely.
Besides, God's Canadian anyways. We found that out in 1972.
Now, without further ramblings on my part...the story... the spam.
Small note: Crosby haters to the left. Seriously. I was gonna meta on the kid, but this took my entire night as it is so... look for that tomorrow. Also, I didn't want to take away from the celebratory nature of things here. Plus, for the curious, I've also unlocked my Bilodeau spam post.
“This medal is not only for myself but for Canada. It's also for the people of Vancouver and the people that have supported me since the first day I got here.”
- Roberto Luongo
Hockey is Canada's national pasttime (lacrosse is our national sport) and it's always been that way. Europe has great hockey programs too, and there's always been a heated rivalry with Russia over who really owns the game, but... come on. We have to be the only country who would put money into making a documentary about what the sport means to us, done in the same dramatic vein as “Canada: A People's History”. We even had Paul Gross narrate it.
So what happened in these Olympics... it meant a lot to us. This was bigger than any Miracle on Ice and all that because here we were, pitting the best of our best against what the rest of the world had to offer. I mean, Olympic hockey took a turn in 1998 when the IOC allowed professional players to compete in the games in this sport. And I'm a hypocrite about it and I know it because the fact is, the Olympics are supposed to be for amateurs - it's their time to get there and shine. And I've always lambasted those that push for professional athletes because it isn't fair to the rest of the world who doesn't have the same sort of pro programs (Olympic men's basketball being the best example). But at the same time, I see hockey differently. Gold medals in men's hockey never meant a whole lot of anything because we didn't have our best players compete. All of Canada's best, if they truly were great, went on to professional teams. That's how it was. So we could say, “Yes, we're the nation with the best players in the world; you just don't get to see them play.” Also, it's not just Canada who has great hockey players. Russia is an obvious nation to look at, but plenty of European nations have their gems and yes, even the United States has come up with their share in recent years of outstanding players.
So 1998 was a big wound to our ego. We had this amazing all-star line-up and were set to take it all. We had the Great One on our team; how could we lose? But lose we did. Maybe we just weren't working as a team. But we finished in a dismal position, while the Czechs with that amazing Dominik Hasek came in as the underdogs and took it all. Funny that that tournament should be all about the goalie too.
Things changed in 2002. Even though he was retired from the game of hockey, Gretzky was still there to hand pick the players he thought held the potential to take the prize and show the world what Canada was made of. Again, another team of all stars and big names: Eric Lindros, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Curtis Joseph, Martin Brodeur, Joe Sakic, Jerome Iginla, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Niedermayer, Paul Kariya, I could just go on and list the whole roster... On top of that, we were close to home soil. At least we were in North America, and Canadians came to cheer us on. But we were on the USA's turf and they were strong. We made it to the final round, but could we do it? They came on the attack first.
Brodeur was amazing back then. But I have to say, that they were more than just a team of all stars; they WORKED as a brilliant team.
We had not won an Olympic gold medal in fifty years until then. It was our time.
We hoped to do it again in Turin in 2004, but things went sour. I still feel raw towards Mats Sundin (for more than just throwing that game) to force us to play the tougher team in the quarterfinals. We came up against Russia, our rival, the bear, and it was all over. We never stood a chance.
That brings us to 2010. We start with the World Junior Championships. We were on a massive winning streak in that tournament, and were still feeling amazing after Jordan Eberle's amazing goal with five seconds left which pushed us on to ultimate victory. Then, the final game against Team USA. We're down by two goals. AND EBERLE DOES IT AGAIN - TWO AMAZING GOALS AT THE LAST MOMENT TO TIE THE GAME AND SEND IT TO OVERTIME. Only, mere minutes into the overtime period, we lose. We're devestated, though not as devestated as Eberle probably felt. This year those games were on OUR soil. How could we lose to a home audience? How could we let it slip by us in Canada?
Would the Olympics fair better for us? Or was this a looming omen of things to come?
This would be the place to be for the next two weeks. First up? Norway. No problem.
Jerome Iginla would even manage himself a hat trick.
The Swiss gave us a little more competition, managing to take the game to a shoot out. But it didn't matter.
Sidney Crosby was there. And I was thinking, along with a lot of other (more fervent) haters, “Damn, this stupid kid wins EVERYTHING, doesn't he?"
But then came... America. And I think that, by and large, we were too cocky as a nation and our team just... was not quite there yet. You could see it in the game against Switzerland, and Mike Babcock was changing lines all around, trying to find that magic combination. We went with old reliable when it came to goal-tending, opting for Brodeur over Luongo despite the latter managing a shut out against Norway. But Switzerland was a better team, reasoned management, so it was more of a challenge. Marty is the best and we're going to go with the best.
But apparently Brodeur's best days were really finally behind him, and his style of goal-tending or his attempt at goal-tending just was... it was miserable. We lost, absolutely mortified and crushed. It really did come down to goal-tending and no one can say otherwise. He allowed two goals in only five shots. We outshot the USA, and even managed to outskate and outplay them despite the best frustating interference I've seen in a long time. But Miller was an amazing goalie and Brodeur was so below par that we didn't stand a chance. The only thing Crosby could manage to put in the net was himself. No one was doing anything. Three way collisions on the ice, Crosby being sat on, Babcock refusing to put Luongo in no matter how bad the score got or how soft the goals were.
And the worst part was, Team USA was an obnoxious bunch of trash talkers. We lost to a bunch of kids who couldn't play decent hockey and liked to shoot their mouths off and weren't supposed to do much better than bronze AT BEST. Suddenly, we were faced with “MIRACLE ON ICE” being shouted everywhere. Then again, we weren't at our best either - far from it - and suddenly, with a qualification round against Germany followed by a quarterfinal match up with Russia... things were beginning to look like Turino all over again.
But the loss against the Americans was the wake up call the team needed. Yzerman came and gave them a good pep talk, and Babcock made some shuffling decisions to test against Germany. Rick Nash was having a terrible time of things thus far - a goal scorer who just couldn't seem to score any goals. Well, maybe if we stick him with Toews and Getzlaf. At first we thought his moment would come when he was taken down in front of the German goal and Canada was given a penalty shot. But Babcock decided to have Crosby take the shot... who MISSED and left fans seething in their seats. I'm a Crosby fan, but I'd be stupid to believe that anyone other than Nash DESERVED to take that shot. No matter, he came and scored anyway and magic was in the air. Meanwhile, Luongo was having the time of his life.
And then, the game finally came to a close with the crowd roaring, “WE WANT RUSSIA! WE WANT RUSSIA! WE WANT RUSSIA!” And we were going to get Russia, because they wanted us too. Old rivalries flared up once more, and while talk of the previous Olympics came up, what everyone else was looking at was 1972. That year we pitted our pros against their pros in one of the fiercest, most dramatic, nation-stopping tournament there ever was and never will be again. Suddenly, nothing existed beyond this match. It didn't matter that it was just the quarterfinals; we were fighting for our lives, but there was more to it. We were fighting for HOCKEY. THIS was what the gold medal match up was supposed to be. We were defending our right to claim a game and there was nothing the Russians wanted more than to not only take that from us, but to take it from us in our own country.
Like I said... it was 1972 all over again. Still don't get it? Watch this three-part section from that documentary I mentioned earlier. Yes, 1980's Miracle on Ice was huge, but it was no Summit Series 1972.
If you watch the looks of intense nerves and concentration and tension on everyone's faces, and then Henderson's goal, followed by the complete bedlam... Then you begin to understand why the media called Crosby the new Paul Henderson. I'm not saying I entirely agree (I just don't like to compare - both are amazing), but you can see it.
So with memories of 1972, we watched our current men's team face the Russians. And it was good. We dominated the game, winning 7 - 3 and it was one of the greatest moments in the tournament. We beat RUSSIA and nothing was going to stop us now! The big bad bear was cowed! We were back on our game, and swapping Luongo in was looking to be the best damn thing the team ever did.
Slovakia was a stepping stone, and one that nearly got away from us. For a moment, they began to look too far ahead and Slovakia REALLY wanted this. A game we were leading 3 - 0 suddenly became 3 - 2 in the third period and one goal post and one last second save by Luongo beat the Slovaks down.
We were in the finals. After all this work, we were there. And who was waiting for us? The United States. It was exactly one week since the humiliating loss. We could smell revenge and taste gold, but more important than who we were facing was what we were looking at. A gold medal on home soil to stand as a lasting testament that hockey is OUR sport, always has been our sport, and always WILL be our sport. Olympics which had opened up to a history of never winning a gold medal at home, had exploded into a golden game, but while we had thirteen which is nothing to shake a stick at, there was the crucial one missing. The last hockey medal...
I am absolutely serious when I say the country ground to a halt just like in 1972. Tickets to the final game were going for thousands of dollars. Everyone could feel history was about to be made - everyone BELIEVED it was about to happen. From British Columbia to Newfoundland, people crowded outside bars waiting in line for HOURS to get a seat to share the experience with fellow Canadians. We wanted this. The rest of the world has no idea how much we wanted this. The previous days of the games didn't matter, it was all just this moment, just this game.
The first goal was ours, but Canada just couldn't open up a wider lead. Still, despite the score being 2 - 1 for us, everyone sat tense as the third period ticked by... the minutes turned into seconds and suddenly the excitement began to mount... higher and higher until...
PARISE.
Anguished cries of “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” rang throughout my house and indeed throughout the entire country. I was very nearly sick. My sister could only stare blankly at the television set. My brother got up and walked a lap around the house. My father had to momentarily change to Nascar to find something less stressing - to watch something he didn't care so much about. Now it would be sudden death overtime. I immediately thought to that year's World Junior's. We'd lost in overtime... but then again, we hadn't taken it to overtime... so, I thought... Yes. We'll do this. I still believe. I still hope. They'll wake up. They were playing too defensively, not bringing their game. TEAM FUCKING CANADA will come back out on that ice and show the Americans who the motherfucking boss is.
We had dinner. I couldn't eat as I waited for the intermission to be over. “I can't believe your boy missed on his freaking breakaway,” said my sister. “What was it you said earlier in the game? Crosby and Iginla wouldn't have missed? Some show there.”
“It just hasn't happened yet,” I said to her. “Crosby and Iginla are awesome. Iginla's consistently amazing and Crosby just hasn't had his moment yet.”
“Well he'd better have it soon, because right now my boy Toews is really the one being awesome out there.”
Then...
“I just shot it. I didn't see it go in. I just heard everybody screaming.”
- Sidney Crosby
“He was yelling 'Iggy, Iggy!' He was yelling pretty urgently, so I knew he had a step... I saw everyone cheering and I couldn't believe it. It was done; I just saw him jumping around... It was awesome.”
- Jerome Iginla
“I was having a drink from my water bottle.”
- Ryan Getzlaf
There was a brief moment of delayed reaction. In looking back you can see it on his face. He just shot the puck and doesn't realize it's a goal until he's skated around the net. And that's when the crowd realizes it too. As Crosby then jumps up and down, pandemonium breaks loose.
The entire nation screamed as one, though this time out of happiness. On the news they showed pictures of people out at bars downtown, and both staff and patrons alike ran around screaming and cheering and crying and hugging everyone we saw. We'd done it. It meant so much to us and we'd done it. Fuck, it didn't even matter if you hated Sidney Crosby, the fact was WE'D FUCKING SCORED AND WON THE GAME. My entire family were all suddenly on our feet, screaming and clapping and crying.
And yeah, part of me does want to say, “Of COURSE it was Crosby. Could it have ever been anyone else?” But why not? It's the finishing touch on the story of a team where so many players were so strong and did so many amazing things and then there at the end moment is the Kid with the goal to win it all. True hockey fans, and true hockey Canada fans know that while it is the moment that stands out, it is still a TEAM VICTORY. And that's why this Crosby spam ended up changing into a Team Canada spam. Because it's wrong to forget the others. Without Luongo's goal-tending or Toews' first goal, we never would have made it to the golden goal. Without Iginla being in the right place to hear Crosby screaming his name (Ohgodthat'saslashficisn'tit?) the moment never would have happened.
Hats off to Team Canada! You took the long and hard road, but you made it in the end. This is a victory for the history books and one the country will never forget. So don't feel bad, rest of the world. I hope that this post made you see just how much this meant to not only myself, but my nation as a whole. Don't begrudge us; don't be bitter. We just truly wanted it more than anyone else. And we also NEEDED it more than anyone else.
“I told him I'm sick and tired of hearing the 'Lou' chants when we come to Vancouver with Chicago. But it never sounded better than tonight.”
- Jonathan Toews
“He proved everybody wrong... He was solid in net for us.”
- Drew Doughty
I love this picture for the looks on the kids' faces. I remember being little like that, and meeting players like Maurice Richard and getting to watch Wayne Gretzky play... those things stay with you. And that right there is the next generation of hockey in Canada.
“Every kid dreams of that opportunity a thousand times growing up.”
- Sidney Crosby
And the celebrations... like I said, we needed this.
The relief and pride the nation experienced yesterday will last for a long time. Thank you, Team Canada for giving it your all and showing not only us and yourselves, but the rest of the world just what hockey is and means to all of us. For not believing in miracles on ice, but for hard work and development, and taking down the giants, learning from your mistakes to turn things around, and for - above all else - storybook endings.
So I'd like to somewhat tongue-in-cheek thank Team USA for doing what they did to us and pushing ourselves to be the best we could be. And hey, you did get your Miracle on Ice win against guys in red jerseys - the anniversary just ended up falling too prematurely.
Besides, God's Canadian anyways. We found that out in 1972.
Now, without further ramblings on my part...the story... the spam.
Small note: Crosby haters to the left. Seriously. I was gonna meta on the kid, but this took my entire night as it is so... look for that tomorrow. Also, I didn't want to take away from the celebratory nature of things here. Plus, for the curious, I've also unlocked my Bilodeau spam post.
“This medal is not only for myself but for Canada. It's also for the people of Vancouver and the people that have supported me since the first day I got here.”
- Roberto Luongo
Hockey is Canada's national pasttime (lacrosse is our national sport) and it's always been that way. Europe has great hockey programs too, and there's always been a heated rivalry with Russia over who really owns the game, but... come on. We have to be the only country who would put money into making a documentary about what the sport means to us, done in the same dramatic vein as “Canada: A People's History”. We even had Paul Gross narrate it.
Click to viewSo what happened in these Olympics... it meant a lot to us. This was bigger than any Miracle on Ice and all that because here we were, pitting the best of our best against what the rest of the world had to offer. I mean, Olympic hockey took a turn in 1998 when the IOC allowed professional players to compete in the games in this sport. And I'm a hypocrite about it and I know it because the fact is, the Olympics are supposed to be for amateurs - it's their time to get there and shine. And I've always lambasted those that push for professional athletes because it isn't fair to the rest of the world who doesn't have the same sort of pro programs (Olympic men's basketball being the best example). But at the same time, I see hockey differently. Gold medals in men's hockey never meant a whole lot of anything because we didn't have our best players compete. All of Canada's best, if they truly were great, went on to professional teams. That's how it was. So we could say, “Yes, we're the nation with the best players in the world; you just don't get to see them play.” Also, it's not just Canada who has great hockey players. Russia is an obvious nation to look at, but plenty of European nations have their gems and yes, even the United States has come up with their share in recent years of outstanding players.
So 1998 was a big wound to our ego. We had this amazing all-star line-up and were set to take it all. We had the Great One on our team; how could we lose? But lose we did. Maybe we just weren't working as a team. But we finished in a dismal position, while the Czechs with that amazing Dominik Hasek came in as the underdogs and took it all. Funny that that tournament should be all about the goalie too.
Things changed in 2002. Even though he was retired from the game of hockey, Gretzky was still there to hand pick the players he thought held the potential to take the prize and show the world what Canada was made of. Again, another team of all stars and big names: Eric Lindros, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Curtis Joseph, Martin Brodeur, Joe Sakic, Jerome Iginla, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Niedermayer, Paul Kariya, I could just go on and list the whole roster... On top of that, we were close to home soil. At least we were in North America, and Canadians came to cheer us on. But we were on the USA's turf and they were strong. We made it to the final round, but could we do it? They came on the attack first.
Brodeur was amazing back then. But I have to say, that they were more than just a team of all stars; they WORKED as a brilliant team.
We had not won an Olympic gold medal in fifty years until then. It was our time.
We hoped to do it again in Turin in 2004, but things went sour. I still feel raw towards Mats Sundin (for more than just throwing that game) to force us to play the tougher team in the quarterfinals. We came up against Russia, our rival, the bear, and it was all over. We never stood a chance.
That brings us to 2010. We start with the World Junior Championships. We were on a massive winning streak in that tournament, and were still feeling amazing after Jordan Eberle's amazing goal with five seconds left which pushed us on to ultimate victory. Then, the final game against Team USA. We're down by two goals. AND EBERLE DOES IT AGAIN - TWO AMAZING GOALS AT THE LAST MOMENT TO TIE THE GAME AND SEND IT TO OVERTIME. Only, mere minutes into the overtime period, we lose. We're devestated, though not as devestated as Eberle probably felt. This year those games were on OUR soil. How could we lose to a home audience? How could we let it slip by us in Canada?
Would the Olympics fair better for us? Or was this a looming omen of things to come?
This would be the place to be for the next two weeks. First up? Norway. No problem.
Jerome Iginla would even manage himself a hat trick.
The Swiss gave us a little more competition, managing to take the game to a shoot out. But it didn't matter.
Sidney Crosby was there. And I was thinking, along with a lot of other (more fervent) haters, “Damn, this stupid kid wins EVERYTHING, doesn't he?"
But then came... America. And I think that, by and large, we were too cocky as a nation and our team just... was not quite there yet. You could see it in the game against Switzerland, and Mike Babcock was changing lines all around, trying to find that magic combination. We went with old reliable when it came to goal-tending, opting for Brodeur over Luongo despite the latter managing a shut out against Norway. But Switzerland was a better team, reasoned management, so it was more of a challenge. Marty is the best and we're going to go with the best.
But apparently Brodeur's best days were really finally behind him, and his style of goal-tending or his attempt at goal-tending just was... it was miserable. We lost, absolutely mortified and crushed. It really did come down to goal-tending and no one can say otherwise. He allowed two goals in only five shots. We outshot the USA, and even managed to outskate and outplay them despite the best frustating interference I've seen in a long time. But Miller was an amazing goalie and Brodeur was so below par that we didn't stand a chance. The only thing Crosby could manage to put in the net was himself. No one was doing anything. Three way collisions on the ice, Crosby being sat on, Babcock refusing to put Luongo in no matter how bad the score got or how soft the goals were.
And the worst part was, Team USA was an obnoxious bunch of trash talkers. We lost to a bunch of kids who couldn't play decent hockey and liked to shoot their mouths off and weren't supposed to do much better than bronze AT BEST. Suddenly, we were faced with “MIRACLE ON ICE” being shouted everywhere. Then again, we weren't at our best either - far from it - and suddenly, with a qualification round against Germany followed by a quarterfinal match up with Russia... things were beginning to look like Turino all over again.
But the loss against the Americans was the wake up call the team needed. Yzerman came and gave them a good pep talk, and Babcock made some shuffling decisions to test against Germany. Rick Nash was having a terrible time of things thus far - a goal scorer who just couldn't seem to score any goals. Well, maybe if we stick him with Toews and Getzlaf. At first we thought his moment would come when he was taken down in front of the German goal and Canada was given a penalty shot. But Babcock decided to have Crosby take the shot... who MISSED and left fans seething in their seats. I'm a Crosby fan, but I'd be stupid to believe that anyone other than Nash DESERVED to take that shot. No matter, he came and scored anyway and magic was in the air. Meanwhile, Luongo was having the time of his life.
And then, the game finally came to a close with the crowd roaring, “WE WANT RUSSIA! WE WANT RUSSIA! WE WANT RUSSIA!” And we were going to get Russia, because they wanted us too. Old rivalries flared up once more, and while talk of the previous Olympics came up, what everyone else was looking at was 1972. That year we pitted our pros against their pros in one of the fiercest, most dramatic, nation-stopping tournament there ever was and never will be again. Suddenly, nothing existed beyond this match. It didn't matter that it was just the quarterfinals; we were fighting for our lives, but there was more to it. We were fighting for HOCKEY. THIS was what the gold medal match up was supposed to be. We were defending our right to claim a game and there was nothing the Russians wanted more than to not only take that from us, but to take it from us in our own country.
Like I said... it was 1972 all over again. Still don't get it? Watch this three-part section from that documentary I mentioned earlier. Yes, 1980's Miracle on Ice was huge, but it was no Summit Series 1972.
If you watch the looks of intense nerves and concentration and tension on everyone's faces, and then Henderson's goal, followed by the complete bedlam... Then you begin to understand why the media called Crosby the new Paul Henderson. I'm not saying I entirely agree (I just don't like to compare - both are amazing), but you can see it.
So with memories of 1972, we watched our current men's team face the Russians. And it was good. We dominated the game, winning 7 - 3 and it was one of the greatest moments in the tournament. We beat RUSSIA and nothing was going to stop us now! The big bad bear was cowed! We were back on our game, and swapping Luongo in was looking to be the best damn thing the team ever did.
Slovakia was a stepping stone, and one that nearly got away from us. For a moment, they began to look too far ahead and Slovakia REALLY wanted this. A game we were leading 3 - 0 suddenly became 3 - 2 in the third period and one goal post and one last second save by Luongo beat the Slovaks down.
We were in the finals. After all this work, we were there. And who was waiting for us? The United States. It was exactly one week since the humiliating loss. We could smell revenge and taste gold, but more important than who we were facing was what we were looking at. A gold medal on home soil to stand as a lasting testament that hockey is OUR sport, always has been our sport, and always WILL be our sport. Olympics which had opened up to a history of never winning a gold medal at home, had exploded into a golden game, but while we had thirteen which is nothing to shake a stick at, there was the crucial one missing. The last hockey medal...
I am absolutely serious when I say the country ground to a halt just like in 1972. Tickets to the final game were going for thousands of dollars. Everyone could feel history was about to be made - everyone BELIEVED it was about to happen. From British Columbia to Newfoundland, people crowded outside bars waiting in line for HOURS to get a seat to share the experience with fellow Canadians. We wanted this. The rest of the world has no idea how much we wanted this. The previous days of the games didn't matter, it was all just this moment, just this game.
The first goal was ours, but Canada just couldn't open up a wider lead. Still, despite the score being 2 - 1 for us, everyone sat tense as the third period ticked by... the minutes turned into seconds and suddenly the excitement began to mount... higher and higher until...
PARISE.
Anguished cries of “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” rang throughout my house and indeed throughout the entire country. I was very nearly sick. My sister could only stare blankly at the television set. My brother got up and walked a lap around the house. My father had to momentarily change to Nascar to find something less stressing - to watch something he didn't care so much about. Now it would be sudden death overtime. I immediately thought to that year's World Junior's. We'd lost in overtime... but then again, we hadn't taken it to overtime... so, I thought... Yes. We'll do this. I still believe. I still hope. They'll wake up. They were playing too defensively, not bringing their game. TEAM FUCKING CANADA will come back out on that ice and show the Americans who the motherfucking boss is.
We had dinner. I couldn't eat as I waited for the intermission to be over. “I can't believe your boy missed on his freaking breakaway,” said my sister. “What was it you said earlier in the game? Crosby and Iginla wouldn't have missed? Some show there.”
“It just hasn't happened yet,” I said to her. “Crosby and Iginla are awesome. Iginla's consistently amazing and Crosby just hasn't had his moment yet.”
“Well he'd better have it soon, because right now my boy Toews is really the one being awesome out there.”
Then...
“I just shot it. I didn't see it go in. I just heard everybody screaming.”
- Sidney Crosby
“He was yelling 'Iggy, Iggy!' He was yelling pretty urgently, so I knew he had a step... I saw everyone cheering and I couldn't believe it. It was done; I just saw him jumping around... It was awesome.”
- Jerome Iginla
“I was having a drink from my water bottle.”
- Ryan Getzlaf
There was a brief moment of delayed reaction. In looking back you can see it on his face. He just shot the puck and doesn't realize it's a goal until he's skated around the net. And that's when the crowd realizes it too. As Crosby then jumps up and down, pandemonium breaks loose.
The entire nation screamed as one, though this time out of happiness. On the news they showed pictures of people out at bars downtown, and both staff and patrons alike ran around screaming and cheering and crying and hugging everyone we saw. We'd done it. It meant so much to us and we'd done it. Fuck, it didn't even matter if you hated Sidney Crosby, the fact was WE'D FUCKING SCORED AND WON THE GAME. My entire family were all suddenly on our feet, screaming and clapping and crying.
And yeah, part of me does want to say, “Of COURSE it was Crosby. Could it have ever been anyone else?” But why not? It's the finishing touch on the story of a team where so many players were so strong and did so many amazing things and then there at the end moment is the Kid with the goal to win it all. True hockey fans, and true hockey Canada fans know that while it is the moment that stands out, it is still a TEAM VICTORY. And that's why this Crosby spam ended up changing into a Team Canada spam. Because it's wrong to forget the others. Without Luongo's goal-tending or Toews' first goal, we never would have made it to the golden goal. Without Iginla being in the right place to hear Crosby screaming his name (Ohgodthat'saslashficisn'tit?) the moment never would have happened.
Hats off to Team Canada! You took the long and hard road, but you made it in the end. This is a victory for the history books and one the country will never forget. So don't feel bad, rest of the world. I hope that this post made you see just how much this meant to not only myself, but my nation as a whole. Don't begrudge us; don't be bitter. We just truly wanted it more than anyone else. And we also NEEDED it more than anyone else.
“I told him I'm sick and tired of hearing the 'Lou' chants when we come to Vancouver with Chicago. But it never sounded better than tonight.”
- Jonathan Toews
“He proved everybody wrong... He was solid in net for us.”
- Drew Doughty
I love this picture for the looks on the kids' faces. I remember being little like that, and meeting players like Maurice Richard and getting to watch Wayne Gretzky play... those things stay with you. And that right there is the next generation of hockey in Canada.
“Every kid dreams of that opportunity a thousand times growing up.”
- Sidney Crosby
And the celebrations... like I said, we needed this.
The relief and pride the nation experienced yesterday will last for a long time. Thank you, Team Canada for giving it your all and showing not only us and yourselves, but the rest of the world just what hockey is and means to all of us. For not believing in miracles on ice, but for hard work and development, and taking down the giants, learning from your mistakes to turn things around, and for - above all else - storybook endings.